By Eric Anderson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
March 5, 1998

Tuning in to 'Dead Air'

At some point in childhood, every kid sits and listens to the radio, and as the DJ talks, dreams that one day it could be his or her voice coming out of the speakers.

For Jim, Jack and John, that dream is now very much a reality.

Every Friday night from midnight - 6 a.m., KXCI 91.3 FM, a local community radio station, allows the privileged trio to spin six hours of Grateful Dead music - and they do it in style.

Started in 1983, the original idea behind the "Dead Air" show was simply to bring live Grateful Dead music to the public on a regular basis. However, during its infancy, it was a somewhat inconsistent broadcast. Back then, "Dead Air" faded in and out, along with its numerous hosts, as well as its broadcast signal. The program was originally only one hour long, occupying the Sunday night slot from 11 p.m.- midnight, when it was able to.

As sporadic as it was, somehow it was clear a Tucson tradition was born and bound for bigger and better things. Unfortunately at first, things did not go as planned.

"['Dead Air'] was really inconsistent all the way up until 1989," said Jim Blackwood, Operations and Public Relations director for KXCI, and "Dead Air" DJ.

In December 1988, though only a junior in high school, Blackwood was offered the job of taking over the Sunday night program, and on Jan. 1, 1989, he went on the air for the first time at KXCI, playing everything he could fit into the one hour slot.

Finally, in April 1989, "Dead Air" made the jump to Friday night, allowing Blackwood to provide more material to the Tucson public from his ever-growing tape collection - a collection that now contains over 2,500 Dead tapes and at least another thousand featuring members of the band.

Blackwood describes "Dead Air" as not only an enjoyable evening of Grateful Dead music, but also as a mass-trade of high quality tapes for collectors like him.

It is far from anything you might call a "one-man show," however. Along the way there have been many faces to grace the "Dead Air" studio. It wasn't until recently that "the three J's" (Jim, Jack and John) were assembled to lead the program.

After relocating to Tucson from the Bay Area in 1989, Jack Straw began taping the "Dead Air" programs. Late in the summer of 1991, he committed to help out, drawing from his Dead experiences, dating back to his first show, Feb. 14, 1968.

"I never did follow the band as avidly as others, but I did a lot of the tours," said Straw, who by his own estimation has over 1,400 shows on tape.

Jim and Jack plugged away, every Friday night at midnight, filling the airwaves with music, yet still searching for the final piece to make "Dead Air" complete.

Enter John Bradford - the third and final "J."

Originally from Washington, D.C., Bradford has lived in Tucson since '79. Bradford connected with KXCI by volunteering time at the station, initially doing the "Music Mix" program on Thursday afternoons. It wasn't long before he was right where he belonged.

While "Dead Air" has become a mainstay, many programs have come and gone, unable to attract enough listener support, which is crucial for KXCI, a nonprofit organization.

"Member support is what keeps programs like this going," said Jim.

In a three-week pledge drive in October, "Dead Air" accounted for 54 pledges totaling $4,080.

With support like that, it looks like "Dead Air" will keep on truckin' for a long time to come.

"Dead Air" can also be accessed on the web at www.kxci.org/deadair.